Massimo vs. Stefano

October 17, 2003 3:29PM

Soap Opera Weekly: What was it like joining B&B after DAYS?Joseph Mascolo
The cast here made me feel so at home when I came. I know some of the people knew of my work, so they knew me. John (McCook, Eric) and Susan (Flannery, Stephanie) welcomed me so nicely that it was comfortable. Brad Bell is changing history here with Massimo, so I’m very much in his corner. The other show, they got to a point where I wasn’t too sure exactly where they were going. If they’re smart, they’ll always keep the aura of Stefano around for dramatic reasons. After 18 years, I do miss the [DAYS] cast and crew. Both crews are absolutely wonderful and to me, they’re the most important.Weekly: Do you keep updated on the DAYS storylines? Do you tune in to the show? Mascolo: I don’t have to — people on the show call me to fill me in. They, and the fans, let me know. The chaos that’s going on over there, I hear all about it.Weekly: If you could bring one of your DAYS co-stars over to B&B, who would you pick and why?Mascolo: Oh, my goodness, I can’t. There are three or four people, but I don’t think it’s right to name anybody, because if I name one person, another will say, “Well, what’s wrong with me?”Weekly: B&B is very popular in Italy. Do you have any stories from your travels over there since joining the show?Mascolo: I did [a television show there] with John McCook and Daniel McVicar (Eric and Clarke). They made the guys sign stuff for the girls, but they wouldn’t let me get near anybody. I couldn’t understand what was going on. Then they had one guy standing in the screen and that was my thing. I looked at him and we started talking a bit, and I said, “Oh, my God!” It was a cousin I had not seen in 25 years — Illiano Mascolo. It was like This Is Your Life, in a weird way. They found him and he showed all these pictures my father had sent to him from when I first got married and all that stuff, to prove it was him. I just broke down in tears. That was incredible, what they did to find him. It was one of the biggest surprises.Weekly: Stefano and Massimo both have a lot of children. Do you have any kids in real life? Or are the on-screen kids enough?Mascolo: I have one child, but the on-screen kids are enough (laughs)! Massimo wasn’t very careful! I hope [the next one is] a girl. For a strong father like him, that would be interesting. I wouldn’t want to be her boyfriend.Weekly: Stefano had an accent, but Massimo doesn’t. Any preferences?Mascolo: It’s easier to play without an accent, of course, but the accent became second nature to me over there, because the minute I walked in the building, I was in it. A lot of people didn’t realize I spoke English. Some of the [DAYS] cast members were betting each other and then a crew member said, “It can’t be. I just saw him on KOJACK, last night.” It was fun to do, but I don’t miss it. I love not having to think in that vein.